RULES are set to change for any Brits heading to Ireland via ferry from next month.
Passengers will be required to carry a valid passport with no exceptions – or risk being stopped before boarding for the first time in over 100 years.
The change will be enforced from September 28 and is UK Border Force tightening rules on “accuracy and integrity of passenger data before boarding”.
Currently, passengers are not required to show a passport but can be asked to have another form of photo ID with a photograph like a driving licence or a bus pass.
Ferry operators Stena Line and Irish Ferries which operate regular crossing told customers yesterday of the changes.
Irish Ferries explained: “This is a change to the current ID accepted and means that from 28 September, no other forms of photo ID will be accepted by Irish Ferries for any passengers, including Irish and UK citizens.
“This is to ensure compliance with UK Border Force requirements relating to the accuracy and integrity of passenger data before boarding.”
Irish Ferries operates two routes between Britain and the Republic of Ireland.
These go between Holyhead and Dublin, and Pembroke and Rosslare.
Another ferry enforcing these rules is Stena Line which has crossings between Holyhead and Dublin as well as Fishguard and Rosslare.
Passengers on these crossings must produce a passport on departure and it added that “no other ID is accepted”.
Customers with pre-existing bookings with both ferries will be contacted by customer service prior to their journey.
Previously, passengers didn’t have to carry their passports with them because of what’s known as The Common Travel Area (CTA).
The CTA is a passport-free zone involving the UK, Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands dating back to 1923.
British and Irish citizens don’t legally need a passport to travel between the two destinations.
But carrying passports has since became a requirement by airlines like Ryanair and Aer Lingus for passengers flying between the two destinations.